Calumet Queen | 3 Floyds Brewing Co.

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A- Came to me with a two finger off white head that stayed for a little bit leaving soapy lacing on the sides that clung for a little bit before falling down the sides. Good golden yellow-orange color that was crystal clear to me.

S- This smelled of sweet malts and some lighter fruits as well. Deeper sniffs produced some faint hops (earthy I think) and a slight rotten egg smell (sulpher) as well.

T- This beer although not my style is very enjoyable to say the least. A tinge of metallic taste to it but nothing to overwhelming. Light sweet grain taste to this with some lighter fruit undertones. Very light hop finsh to this that mingles with a light sulpher taste.

M- The is a very light mouthfeel. The carbonation seemed to be a little on the light side I thought for the style. It marched across the palate on it's tiptoes leaving a light and refreshing taste in the mouth. Nothing screamed out and it was nice to not have to think about what I was drinking.

D- This is a perfect summertime drinker. I would sip on this while I mowed the lawn or just having a good conversation with friends. Good beer to give to someone who is not into craft beers.

Poured into tumbler. Pours straw yellow with a small white head. Smell is light, grains, some caramel. Taste is lots of light malt, straw grain, small amount of hop presence, some caramel, sourly dry. Carbonation is nice. Overall this is a refreshing nice representation of the style, very light, small hop bitterness and plenty of dryness from the grain. Glad I got to try it

Served cold into a tulip. Expectations are above average given the brewery.

1 pint 6 fl oz.

No bubble show forms as it's poured.

HEAD: About 5cm wide.White colour. Decent thickness. Decent consistency. Compexion is alright. Coating. Leaves a sticky ring of lacing on the sides of the glass as it recedes. Retention is quite good - about 6-7 minutes.

BODY: Murky yellow-copper of average vibrance. No yeast is visible within. Not the clean filtered body you'd expect in a good Kolsch, but it's not hazy or cloudy at least.

It's unconventional for its style, but generally appealing. More of a clean crisp appearance and an obviously filtered body would be ideal, as would a livelier frothier head.

I'm missing the one-two punch of Noble hops and pilsner malts that is the fundament of the style, but it nails the subtle ale yeast-redolent esters.

Aromatic intensity is average. Suggests an overly sweet beer that veers well away from traditional style conventions. I'm open-minded, but this doesn't promise a great Kolsch.

TASTE: Has a clean taste in keeping with the best Kolsch style beers I've tried. Clean grains and crisp pilsner malts lend the beer its backbone, and high sweetness for the style - though it's not cloying. Doughy yeast fades into the background as prickles of lemon zest and white pepper emerge. Hop presence is way too pungent for the style, bringing heavy handed notes of floral hop and grassy hop character. I wish 3 Floyds had resisted the now-cliche American brewery urge to dump more hops than necessary in a traditional European style, but in spite of that flaw this beer is quite enjoyable.

Flavour duration is long for the style. Flavour intensity is similarly high - some might even say overwhelming. Depth of flavour is merely average. This is a cohesive build for a Kolsch, but the beer isn't gestalt. Could use more subtlety in its execution, but the lemon zest and doughy yeast are nice touches as-is; they just feel more in line with a saison or Belgian pale than a Kolsch. Attenuation is odd.

TEXTURE: Crisp, overcarbonated (almost to the point of coming off biting), smooth, wet, light to medium-bodied, and somewhat refreshing. It should be lighter still, and effortessly drinkable, but the use of too many hops necessitated a higher than average malt bill - which led to too much body. If you're after a delicate light summer Kolsch, look elsewhere - this is overbearing for the style, bringing a clumsy American pale ale-redolent body to a style that isn't broken and didn't need any fixing.

Luckily, it's not oily, gushed, astringent, hot, boozy, rough, or scratchy. But it doesn't elevate the beer as a whole, nor is it to style.

OVERALL: Discerning drinkers are best off sticking to tried and true traditional German offerings, but I have no doubts this will find its market in the U.S. As clumsy and flagrantly overhopped an (ostensible) attempt at a Kolsch this is, if one regards it outside of style conventions it's an enjoyable brew. A Kolsch for American pale ale drinkers, Calumet Queen will please American drinkers who don't normally appreciate the nuances of the style, and enrage German drinkers who do. I wouldn't buy it again, especially in the cash-grab bomber format (seriously, name a respected Kolsch that comes in 500+ml format), but I'm glad I tried it once, and maybe this will encourage those less familiar with the style to seek out proper paragons.

Taste: Crisp toasted bread. Seriously, this is made of toast. Some edges of honey and lemon rind. Dustings of hay with a nice clean earthiness. Pale malts and some nice underlying sweetness. Vaguely soapy and floral. Grass and hay. Lingering earthiness. Biscuit and raw grain. Not pretty, but that's what makes it solid.

Mouthfeel: Clean with a moderate to light body. Missing some of the fuller edges I would expect. Nice and smooth.

Overall: A fitting match for Three Floyds King.

I'm not sure how Three Floyds does it, but they've managed to make yet another easy drinking, relatively light lager. Nothing aggressive or insane. This would be a fantastic beer in the dead heat of summer...or ever really. It's good.

My first ever Kolsch style! Pours a gorgeous, light, slightly hazy, yellow golden color with a pure white, foamy head. The head has decent retention. An 1/8 inch white cap sits on top of the beer and is perpetuated by carbonation bubbles rising from the bottom. Tart Czech Pilsener nose. A bit of green grape and some unripe banana peel. A pretty surprising mouthfeel given the appearance and the bouquet. One would expect something lighter and crisper. The mouthfeel is full and a bit thick, nearing chewy. Smooth on the finish. Really nice balance in the flavor. Sweetness and tartness work together nicely. Nothing obtrusive. It's a really good beer overall. However, it shouldn't be $7.99 a bomber.

I had this one on tap at the FFF Brewpub a few days ago. From my notes:

A= This beer poured a very clear deep gold color with a 3/4" snow white head. The head quickly dropped to a cap, but retained that cap all the way down the glass. Spotty lacing at best.

S= A decent sulfur note appropriate to the style, with some grainy sweetness and a hint of orchard fruit in there too. Grassy hints near the end.

T= Followed the nose, with a sweet grain flavor up front and very mild esters through the middle. The hops were fairly well hidden with just a hint of bitterness that was accented nicely by the sulfur note. Dry finish.

MF= Light bodied with a crisp palate cleansing feel.

D= Damn drinkable and easily sessionable. A good one to have with food or to just kick back with.

Served in a shaped, see-through glass of some sort. Hell, I'm visiting non-craft beer peeps for the holidays and it's all they have.

A: Ever the slightest of chill haze on an overall clear, golden brew with mustard highlights. Tons of visible carbonation and one of the most massive white heads I've seen all year. Seriously, I had to wait for it to subside.

S: Actually, I did manage to get a bit of the delectable FFF hop profile, along with a good bit of sweet grains, barley, and sourdough bread.

T: Okay, perhaps the FFF profile was my overactive imagination, because I'm not getting it any more. Crisp, with the bitter finish played to perfection. Grains, but also a good amount of fresh filtered water in the middle. Great!

M: Cushiony and bubbly in spades, with suds staining the glass as I siphoned off the liquid. Not too bitter, not too sweet, just perfect!

O: FFF amazes me around every turn, and for them to turn out a hit from a style that in lesser hands tend to be bland, speaks volumes as to their talents. Now, if they could only do something about their poor attitude.